


Star Wars

by delicatelyglitterywriter



Series: Autism "Coming Out" Fics [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Autism, Autism Acceptance, Autistic Bobbi, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Meltdown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-23 11:51:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14331876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delicatelyglitterywriter/pseuds/delicatelyglitterywriter
Summary: Bobbi didn't mean to start crying when Daisy asked a question. She was just overwhelmed. Fortunately, Hunter is there to help her.





	Star Wars

It’s been a really long day. 

She’d been woken up at six in the morning to go on a mission. She’d been up until eleven the previous night, and so she was already tired. The flight had been bumpy, and the mission had been rough. They’d lost one of the civilians they’d been working with. The flight back had been loud, with two agents fighting with each other all the way back.

In short, Bobbi’s almost out of spoons. 

It’s Daisy who pushes her over the edge. Bobbi knows she didn’t mean to; it’s just that she gave Bobbi more than she could handle. 

Bobbi’s relaxing in the lounge area when Daisy enters with Mack, both debating something. Daisy’s smiling and Mack seems in a good mood, and so Bobbi doesn’t think much of it. 

Until Daisy drags her into it.

“Hey, Bobbi, maybe you can settle this thing for us. Mack thinks ‘Return of the Jedi’ is better than ‘Empire Strikes Back’. Which do you think is better?”

Usually, Bobbi would say that she likes both; ‘Empire Strikes Back’ had a good storyline, but ‘Return of the Jedi’ had the adorable Ewoks that she’s always loved. Then she’d laugh at them being exasperated at her, and it would be a good time.

But in her fragile state, Bobbi is overwhelmed by the question, and her brain can’t piece together an answer. So, Bobbi does the only thing she can think of: she starts to cry. 

She doesn’t  _ want _ to cry; it just sort of happens.

Daisy and Mack are taken aback, and they stand there, confused as to what to do as Bobbi cries. She wants to tell them what’s happening (that she’s having a meltdown), and what to do (take her back to her bunk), but she’s gone nonverbal. It’s just all too much, and Bobbi’s brain isn’t responding to her commands, which only makes her cry harder.

Mack’s the first one to suggest they get Hunter. He reasons that Hunter is the closest to her, and so will be the most likely to know what to do. 

Hunter comes running as soon as Mack tells him. He takes one look at Bobbi, and can warrant a pretty good guess at what’s happening. He gets Mack to help him take Bobbi back to her bunk, where he gently lays her down on the bed, takes her shoes and jacket off, and pulls the blanket over her. He pushes her stuffed giraffe, that she keeps hidden under mattress, into her arms, and leaves the room to let Bobbi be by herself.

It’s a while before Bobbi has calmed down, but when she does, she falls asleep, incredibly tired from the day’s events. She wakes up about three hours later, feeling much better. So much better, in fact, that she’s willing to venture out of her room to get food. She never finished the sandwich and she’s hungry.

Hunter’s the only one in the kitchen when she enters. She ducks her head, not acknowleding him. She had been aware enough before to realise that it was him helping her, and she feels embarrassed for crying in front of everybody. She hates crying in front of everybody.

She goes to grab some food, when Hunter’s voice stops her.

“I’ve got it, Bobbi. Sit down.” When Bobbi ignores him, he adds, “I’m making waffles.”

Those words are enough to make Bobbi turn on her heel and slide into a seat on the opposite side of the counter. She watches as Hunter cooks a couple of waffles and then slides them across to Bobbi, along with some syrup and whipped cream. Bobbi just goes for the whipped cream. She’s not in the mood for syrup right now.

Hunter soon finishes making his own waffles and joins Bobbi, directly opposite her. They eat in silence for a little while before Hunter finally speaks.

“So, about earlier…”

“What about earlier?” Bobbi snaps. She doesn’t mean to snap at him, it’s just a defensive reflex. But she’s not really in the mood for apologising, so she doesn’t. 

“Well, it’s just that I had an autistic buddy once who had a similar thing happen to him after a rough day,” Hunter says, choosing his words carefully. “And I was just wondering if you…did you have a rough day, too?”

“Yes,” Bobbi says shortly. She doesn’t say anything more, wanting Hunter to ask directly. It doesn’t feel right to tell him it as an answer to a vague question. 

“Not entirely what I meant, Bob.”

“What did you mean then?” Bobbi asks, looking up at him. She’s not going to lie, she does enjoy watching him squirm. 

She understands that it is an awkward question to ask, and if she’s evil in wanting him to be as awkward as possible for her own amusement, well, she’s willing to bear that label. He looks at her, and she gives him her best blank face. He sighs in defeat. 

“Okay, fine. What I’m trying to ask is,” he takes a deep breath, “are you autistic, too?”

“Yes,” she answers, smiling. 

She takes another bite of her waffles, lowering her head. She’d been wanting to tell him for a while, but she wasn’t sure how to. It was nice having him ask her, instead of her having to tell him.

“Okay, cool.”

They finish their waffles in silence. It’s Hunter who speaks first, as he’s putting the dishes in the sink.

“When were you going to tell me?  _ Were _ you going to tell me?”

“Of course! I just...didn’t know quite how.”

Hunter nods. “So, you play with me and get me to do the hard part?”

Bobbi feigns shock, although she can’t stop her eyes from smiling. “That is quite the accusation.”

“Ah, but you didn’t say it was a false one!”

Bobbi shrugs, a smile now gracing her lips. “What can I say? I like watching you squirm.”

“Evil,” Hunter mutters, scrubbing at the plates. 

“Maybe a little,” Bobbi agrees with a grin. She notices that Hunter can’t help but smile, too. 

Hunter finishes the dishes and puts them in the drying rack.

“You should probably talk to Daisy and Mack. They feel guilty for making you cry.”

Bobbi shakes her head. “It wasn’t their fault. I was just overwhelmed and that was the thing that pushed me over the edge.”

“Then tell them that,” Hunter urges. “They think they did something to upset you.”

Bobbi sighs. She knows she has to set the record straight, but she’s not too keen on facing them. It’s always hard facing people she’s had a meltdown in front of. But avoiding it would just be avoiding the inevitable. 

So, slowly, she gets out of her seat and goes off to find them. She finds them in the gym, finishing up a workout.

“Hi,” she greets awkwardly. Daisy and Mack turn to her, and speak at the same time.

“Are you okay?”

“We’re sorry for upsetting you.”

“It’s not your fault,” Bobbi says with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I just...yesterday was a lot, and I was overwhelmed, and I just wasn’t able to cope with the question. You guys didn’t do anything wrong.”

They look relieved.

“Glad to hear that,” Mack says, walking over to lay and arm across her shoulders. “We were worried that we’d done something wrong.”

“Yeah. We thought we’d, I dunno, asked a Trekkie a Star Wars question.”

Bobbi laughs at that and shakes her head.

“Not a Trekkie.”

“Good, ‘coz then I’d have to return your birthday gift.”

“Y-You’ve already bought me something? My birthday’s not for another seven months!”

“Nah, not really. I’ve just always wanted to say that.”

Bobbi laughs again. She loves Daisy’s antics. Then she remembers something.

“Oh, I should probably answer that question! My answer is that I think they’re both good. ‘Empire Strikes Back’ has a very good storyline, but ‘Return of the Jedi’ has adorable little Ewoks, and come on, how can you  _ not _ love those?”

As she predicted, Mack and Daisy sigh in exasperation. Daisy even throws in an eyeroll for good measure.

"Ravenclaw."

"Proud of it," Bobbi playfully counters, grinning. 

“I thought Hufflepuff was the house of impartiality?” Mack asks. 

“True, but Ravenclaw also has some degree of impartiality, since they weigh up all the options and judge objectively, while Hufflepuff is more subjective in their impartiality.”

“Now that’s just confusing,” Mack says, following Daisy out of the gym. Bobbi chuckles to herself, shaking her head. She leaves the gym, too, and catches Hunter’s eye as she steps out. They exchange a smile, before Bobbi heads to the lab.

As she walks, she thinks it’s good that someone now knows. It feels nice not having to keep this a secret all to herself anymore. 


End file.
